Rachel Fuller Presents IN THE ATTIC, 9/14/06
Last night was another wonderful concert event with Rachel Fuller. (That’s two in one week!) At the intimate Joe’s Pub on Lafayette St, Rachel presented IN THE ATTIC – which, if you’ve followed Rachel at all, you’ll know is an extension of her hugely successful IN THE ATTIC webcasts, featuring performances and collaborations by a variety of artists.
Last night’s show featured:
Foy Vance
Martha Wainwright
Pete Townshend
and, of course, Rachel Fuller
Rachel’s shows back home are literally done "in the attic," setting up a comfortable, intimate and informal atmosphere. The Joe’s Pub show felt like you were there with them in the attic, witnessing a group of musicians and friends making an impromptu bit of music for an appreciative audience.
Foy opened with a cover of "Crosstown Traffic." I had no idea how powerful that song could sound on one acoustic guitar. He performed a few others, including "Gabriel and the Vagabond," which was featured on Grey’s Anatomy. Fantastic. Buy Foy’s EP here, or you can buy the above single on iTunes.
Although I’ve read many an article on Martha, I’d never really heard her perform before (other than her appearance on IN THE ATTIC a number of months ago). The emotion she puts into her music is riveting. I unfortunately don’t know the names of the songs she performed past "Factory," but wow, what a fantastic performance. Buy Martha’s album at Amazon or iTunes.
What can I say about Pete’s performance. It was a fan’s dream set. He played "Greyhound Girl," "Endless Wire," "Let’s See Action," "Blue, Red & Grey" (on ukelele), and "In The Ether." The new Who album comes out 10/31, and everything I’ve heard so far has been unbelievably good. Check YouTube in a few hours for last night’s performance of "Man In A Purple Dress" on Letterman. And you can stream "It’s Not Enough" and "Tea And Theatre" from the new album here.
Rachel’s set was terrific. She lost any nerves she might have had on Monday and the crowd, which I expect was filled with many diehard Who fans, was both impressed and captivated by her unbelievable command performance. She opened with two covers that I don’t think you’ll ever hear back-to-back again: "It’s a Motherfucker" by Eels, and "Blue" by Joni Mitchell. She continued with "Cigarettes and Housework," "Happy To Be Sad," and "Just Breathe." Rachel was cool, collected and clever – and completely in control. I walked away even more impressed than before. You can buy her EP, Shine at Barnes & Noble or iTunes.
Each artist performed a few solo songs and a few collaborations. Martha, Pete and Rachel joined Foy for "Indiscriminate Act of Kindness," Pete and Rachel joined Martha for "Factory," Rachel joined Pete for "In The Ether," and Pete joined Rachel for "Just Breathe." For the finale, the group sang "I’m One" and "Shine (Theme From IN THE ATTIC)."
After the show, there was a meet & greet with the artists and many familiar friends and fans. Although Martha wasn’t there, Foy, Pete and Rachel posed for many photos and made a lot of people very happy.
Rachel’s next IN THE ATTIC gig takes place on 9/28 in Chicago. You’d be a fool to miss it.
Many, many people were using the video camera function on their cameras, so I expect you’ll see plenty of clips on YouTube soon enough. I just took my photos. Lots of photos. They’re broken down by artist for easy viewing. (You’ll find shots of Rachel or Pete in each artist’s folder as well, from their collaborations.) Plus, there’s a special gallery of photos I took of fans meeting Rachel and Pete. Check it out – you may be on there.
Photos: Rachel Fuller Presents IN THE ATTIC, 9/14/06
Here are a few of my faves. Enjoy. And special thanks to Trrish and Ozzie for getting me a ticket!
September 15th, 2006 at 1:03 pm
Jason,
Nice to meet you last night. Thanks for posting such awesome photos!! We all had a great time, didn’t we? :-)
September 15th, 2006 at 1:47 pm
Another great review. That’s a great photo of Foy.
September 15th, 2006 at 1:57 pm
Thanks for the great report! I wish I could have been there. Best, John
September 15th, 2006 at 2:28 pm
Hey Jay,
Great seeing you last night!!! Where’s my photo? I must be the only one there you didn’t take a picture of!!!
Joe
September 15th, 2006 at 3:03 pm
Jason – Thanks for posting the photos! It was great seeing you again!
September 15th, 2006 at 3:39 pm
Great pics and a great review! Thanks for sharing! xx
September 15th, 2006 at 5:34 pm
Thanks again jason
you are an excellent writer
thanks thanks
September 15th, 2006 at 7:30 pm
I’m a huge Pete Townshend fan, but have read a couple of bios where he comes across as a jerk. The photo you took with him shows him in a rather happy mood. Did you get a chance to chat with him or was it a quick snap, handshake and then out?
September 15th, 2006 at 11:38 pm
Jay – Cool.
John
September 16th, 2006 at 9:42 am
Thanks Jason for the awesome pics! Will you be going to any of the Chicago shows?
September 16th, 2006 at 10:47 am
Don’t let him fool you with his boyish good looks, charming personality, and amazing photographic abilities, he really is a shameless hussy. He dumped me at Joe’s before the appetizers arrived, all for a better seat! love and pick up the peace,ozzieps hey dude, "rock the fuck on!!!" You really are on the amazing journey.
September 16th, 2006 at 10:56 am
Jason, some of those pics of Rachel are album cover worthy! I especially like the first sepia-toned one. And I’m so proud of the pic I took of you and Pete. Makes me smile every time. A perfect evening, and you’ve really captured the spirit of the event.
September 16th, 2006 at 1:03 pm
PETE, COME TO ARGENTINA, PLEASE!!
LONG LIVE THE WHO!!!
September 16th, 2006 at 3:50 pm
Thanks Rachel,Pete,Martha and Foy it was a magical night!!
Fantastic photos Jason!!!! :)
It was nice to meet some of the bloggers as well :)
Mike S
September 17th, 2006 at 7:48 am
Hey Jason thanks for taking the picture of me and Pete. You got some good photos. I’m still working on my video’s of petes performances. Hope I didn’t get in your way too much sitting next to you in the pub. If you need a place to stay in Seattle for a Who Concert let me know.
Jeff
September 20th, 2006 at 2:01 am
Nice close-ups! I did get a chance to have a pretty lengthy conversation backstage with the mighty Pete. His intensity onstage vs. backstage are similar but different. Similar in that Pete is 100% engaged to the topic but different in that his voice is very personable. A great time!
Sully
September 21st, 2006 at 1:33 am
Hey Jason – Great seeing you again, it’s been been quite a while. And what a fantastic event to run into you at! Hopefully our paths will cross again soon during this flurry of activty.
September 22nd, 2006 at 9:50 pm
Jason,
Thank you so much for taking photos of me and Rachel. The ITA show was great! It was so nice to see many Who fans I haven’t seen for a long time.
All the photos you took look so professional! No wonder your web page is linked to Pete’s website. I’m proud of you.
Hope to see you soon where the boys are.
December 4th, 2006 at 11:05 am
[…] Rachel Fuller and a fantastic group of artists made their return to Joe’s Pub in NYC last Wednesday for yet another successful ATTIC JAM concert. Their last concert, which I reviewed here in September, felt like a well-kept (yet sold-out) secret. Well, after subsequent successful shows in locations including Chicago and Los Angeles, this show seemed more popular than ever. The energy in the room was unbelievable. […]